North Carolina Republicans couldn't possibly make this week any worse for themselves, right? Wrong.
Birther alert! North Carolina state Rep. Larry Pittman (R), speaking to a friendly crowd in Concord on Monday, joked that President Obama hasn't done anything to harm his native country -- Kenya. "Someone had posted something [on Facebook] with a picture of Barack Obama and across it said 'traitor,' " Pittman said. "And, you know, I don't always agree with the guy, I certainly didn't vote for him but I gotta defend him on this one. I just don't think it's right at all to call Barack Obama a traitor. There's a lot of things he's done wrong but he is not a traitor. Not as far as I can tell. I haven't come across any evidence yet that he has done one thing to harm Kenya."
So, let's recap, shall we? North Carolina Republicans started the week offering a spirited defense of a voter-suppression bill that will make it harder for people of color to participate in their own democracy. Then a North Carolina Republican official was forced to resign after referring to "lazy black people that wants the government to give them everything" during an interview for national broadcast. Then North Carolina's Republican governor, Pat McCrory, decided it'd be a good idea to honor the late Sen. Jesse Helms (R-N.C.) -- arguably the last proud, unrepentant racist to serve in Congress.
And then a Republican state senator in North Carolina thought it'd be hilarious to celebrate Birther humor.
Here's a new working theory: Republicans in North Carolina hope to win 0% of racial and ethnic minority voters in all future elections.